Discussion (6) ¬

Actually – He La cells were distinct because they were immortal; as long as they are sustained and fed, they do not die. This is true of many cancer cells, which have their [normal] cell suicide program disabled. This is one reason why cancer is deadly. It is estimated that enough He La cells have been grown so far to exceed her body weight. This whole incident is covered in the book Sex and the Origins of Death, as well as on other websites — including Henrietta’s wiki page.

You really are a prominent Black Historian Keith, the amount of history – African American History I learn from your reading work, it’s like I’m taking a class! Maybe you should consider becoming a professor when you retire from the comic strip business. At any rate, I’m sure all of the historical figures (both black and white – pun intended) you have paid tribute to over the years, and seemingly brought back to life, really appreciate you!

To clarify Eric Francis’s comment. The HeLa line were not the first to reproduce on their own. Many cells had been cultured, including cander cells. The HeLa line was the first not to become non-viable after a few dozen generations. Cancer cells do indeed have their cell suicide programs disabled, as EF says, but they still can’t repair themselves in each generation. The HeLa line can do that. A few other such lines have been discovered since, and we now can create them with recombinant DNA techniques, but for some decades HeLa stood alone, and thousands of scientists built research careers around the line.

I don’t get it, it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that she’s black, but still very well done, and amusing.
I personally don’t care that Henrietta was black, just that she did so much for science in general.